Leslie Kasanoff is a member of the Los Osos Rotary Club.  She has spent her entire career in health care.  Through her work she has come to focus on a natural approach to health, and works as a personal health coach and consultant.  Her philosophy is that if you can move freely without pain and think clearly, you will lead a good life, well into your late years.  Mental clarity impacts mobility, and most everything else in our life.  There are simple things you can do to help you remain mentally fit and mobile for life. 

If you are starting to suffer from mobility, stamina, or mental health issues they won't magically get better.  Drugs may cover up symptoms, but the condition will not improve.  Approximately five Americans over 65 and older, fall each year, and sometimes the falls are fatal.  The drugs that we take for other symptoms, can affect our mobility and balance.  Every disease starts with inflammation, and diet and lifestyle, can help you reverse these symptoms

Poor food choices often lead to brain, balance, and inflammation issues.  If you want to think more clearly, eat your beans and your greens, get off dangerous drugs, and maintain a healthy weight; fat cells increase inflammation. 

There are a lot of medications out there that have not been properly tested.  And, at 250,000 a year, medical errors are the 3rd leading course of death in the US.  Talk with your doctor about the prescription drugs that you are taking.  A couple of things to ask your doctor about include the “Beers” criteria, and STOPP/Start criteria.  Both of these programs are a tool to help older people to identify potentially inappropriate medications that could be impacting their health, particularly in the areas of mental clarity and balance. 

In short, to live a healthier life, keep your brain active, maintain a healthy weight, exercise, and adopt a predominantly plant-based, whole food diet.